American Hockeyhttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/taxonomy/term/691/all
enGeneration To Generationhttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2012-01/generation-generation
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World Cup Victory Helped Bridge The Gap From Storied Past To Promising Future </div>
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By:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/node/12">Harry Thompson</a> </div>
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<p><strong><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.org/sites/default/files/images/HOF_1.jpg" alt="The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2011 included Gary Suter, Chris Chelios, Ed Snider, Mike &amp;ldquo;Doc&amp;rdquo; Emrick and Keith Tkachuk." title="The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2011 included Gary Suter, Chris Chelios, Ed Snider, Mike &amp;ldquo;Doc&amp;rdquo; Emrick and Keith Tkachuk." class="image image-_original " width="525" height="290" /><span class="caption" style="width: 523px;">The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2011 included Gary Suter, Chris Chelios, Ed Snider, Mike &ldquo;Doc&rdquo; Emrick and Keith Tkachuk.</span></span></strong></p>
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<p>They were inspired by the greatest moment in hockey history and grew up to be known as the &ldquo;Greatest Generation.&rdquo; In turn, they inspired future generations of American hockey players to rise up and accomplish their own great things.</p>
<p>Now, as many of them look back on their long and storied careers, the benefit of time has helped them realize their impact on the game.</p>
<p>Three of the greatest Americans to ever wear the stars and stripes &mdash; Chris Chelios, Gary Suter and Keith Tkachuk &mdash; were recently inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, joining Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider and broadcaster Mike Emrick in the shrine to the American game.</p>
<p>Their acceptance speeches at a Chicago ceremony on Dec. 12 were part reflections on the past as well as a look ahead to the promise of the future.</p>
<p>Tkachuk was just starting out in hockey in Melrose, Mass., when a group of American college kids shocked the heavily favored Russians in Lake Placid, N.Y., but even then he knew he was watching history unfold.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I was 7 years old when I experienced the Miracle on Ice and even then I understood the significance of that feat,&rdquo; said Tkachuk, now 39.</p>
<p>For Gary Suter, the magnitude of the moment hit even closer to his Madison, Wis., home as his older brother, Bob, was a member of the 1980 squad.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Bobby has always held it over my head that he&rsquo;s the only one with a gold medal,&rdquo; said Suter, who represented the United States eight times in international competition, including two Olympics. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s constantly been ribbing me about that.&rdquo; </p>
<p>Who can blame him? Named the century&rsquo;s top sporting moment by Sports Illustrated, the Miracle on Ice will always be the apex of USA Hockey&rsquo;s history. It not only changed the way Americans looked at the game, it also changed the perception of the American hockey player among those at the highest level of the game.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The &rsquo;80 Team paved the way for our group,&rdquo; said Chelios, who called it a career in 2010 after 27 seasons in the NHL. &ldquo;No one was drafting college kids, but as soon as the &rsquo;80 Team won it, all of sudden the first pick overall was [Brian] Lawton [in 1983]. That really jump-started our group of guys to get where they wanted to go. NHL teams all of a sudden were looking at U.S. players.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Still, in the eyes of many in the hockey world, one miracle does not an international dynasty make. It took something bigger, something on a grander scale to fully earn the respect of the hockey world. That opportunity came nearly two decades later, when the U.S. assembled a formidable cast to take on the best in the world at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. </p>
<p>While much of the American sporting public was fixated on a rookie shortstop named Derek Jeter, who was making a name for himself with the New York Yankees, eight of the best hockey-playing countries in the world faced off in a late summer tournament that culminated with two North American teams skating in a best-of-three final. </p>
<p>After dropping the first game in overtime on home soil, the Americans packed their bags and headed for Montreal. A decisive 5-2 victory guaranteed a third game, where Tony Amonte broke a 2-2 tie late in the third period to stun the partisan Canadian crowd at the Molson Centre and give the Americans international bragging rights.</p>
<p>&ldquo;For our group, we needed to win something to get over the hump,&rdquo; Chelios said. &ldquo;Getting close wasn&rsquo;t good enough. We had to win.&rdquo;</p>
<p><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.org/sites/default/files/images/HOF_2.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-_original " width="300" height="175" /></span>Even now, all these years later, after winning Stanley Cups and setting records that may last for decades, all three players of the Class of 2011 say that winning the World Cup stands out.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The &rsquo;96 World Cup is probably the biggest thrill of my hockey career,&rdquo; said Tkachuk, who is one of four Americans to score at least 500 goals in his NHL career. </p>
<p>&ldquo;It was a great hockey moment not just for me but for USA Hockey. I think that a lot of the reason you see these younger players in the league is because of the &rsquo;96 Team, just like the 1980 Olympics were for me.&rdquo; </p>
<p>Over the years, the nucleus of that team stayed together through various international competitions, including the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Olympic Winter Games and another World Cup in 2004, earning the reputation as the &ldquo;Greatest Generation&rdquo; of American hockey players.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The majority of us were the same age, in the prime of our careers,&rdquo; Tkachuk said. &ldquo;We did a lot of great things together. I take pride in the fact in what we did and what we accomplished with that group, building and building, and we helped out some of the younger stars who are in the game today.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Along the way, they raised the level of American hockey, going from teams that hoped to keep games close to teams that entered international competitions expecting to win.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It was pretty rewarding to be part of an American hockey generation that went from being happy to keep the scores close against those top teams in the world to becoming one of those top teams in the world,&rdquo; said Suter, who retired in 2002. </p>
<p>And now the torch has been passed. A new generation of American hockey stars is writing its own chapter in the book of USA Hockey history. </p>
<p>The seed that was planted in 1996 has taken root in Ann Arbor, Mich., where the National Team Development Program continues to train the stars of tomorrow. </p>
<p>It continued on with the first World Junior Championship in 2004 and culminated with a silver-medal run at the Vancouver Olympic Games that captivated a nation, including those who wore the USA crest in the past.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It was a great group of players, and they let no one down,&rdquo; said Chelios, who served as an assistant coach at the team&rsquo;s orientation camp in suburban Chicago.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Overtime in the gold-medal game, what more can you ask for, other than a different outcome? And they&rsquo;re going to be good for a long time. That was a young team, and they have the swagger. They know they can compete with anybody.&rdquo;</p>
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Issue:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/issue/2012-01">2012-01</a> </div>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2012-01/generation-generation#commentsAmerican HockeyChris CheliosEd SniderGary SuterHockey Hall of FameKeith TkachukMike EmrickFeatureThu, 22 Dec 2011 20:36:56 +0000admin6140 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comBroten to the Corehttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2007-09/broten-core
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Time And Distance Can’t Diminish The Impact Three Minnesota Brothers Have Had On American Hockey </div>
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By:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/node/37">Jess Myers</a> </div>
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<p><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/BrotenBros.preview.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-preview " width="525" height="255" /></span></p>
<p>The Internet age of communication &ndash; that much-lauded era in which getting in touch and staying in touch is supposed to be miraculously easy &ndash; is upon us. And indeed, the days of cell phones and instant messaging and Blackberries and iPhones and all other increasingly onerous modes of tracking folks down have forever changed communication, mostly for the better.</p>
<p>But there are still potholes on the information superhighway, and hitting one in pursuit of a story is a memorable experience that makes one pause just a bit.</p>
<p>Take, for example, the case of three brothers who are arguably the most renowned siblings in American hockey history. Thirty years ago, talking to Neal, Aaron and Paul Broten would&rsquo;ve required a phone call to one modest home in tiny Roseau, Minn. Today, getting into a simple phone conversation with that trio involves more area codes and voicemail boxes than really seem necessary. And even with all of the tools of modern communication at your disposal, there are still no guarantees that you&rsquo;ll make a connection.</p>
<p>While some former athletes begrudgingly step out of the spotlight and into obscurity, making the regular rounds at celebrity golf outings and sports memorabilia shows to stay in touch with the fans, the Broten brothers have all taken a big step away from the bright lights of NHL and international hockey stardom. </p>
<p>Their phones don&rsquo;t ring too often with folks wanting to talk hockey, and when they do, there&rsquo;s no guarantee that the receiver will be picked up. And after spending more than half their lives wearing skates for a living, they admit that they don&rsquo;t lace up the blades that often these days. </p>
<p>&ldquo;A postman doesn&rsquo;t go for a walk on his day off,&rdquo; Aaron says with his usual wry sense of humor.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />That&rsquo;s not to say that hockey is ever that far from the Brotens, even a decade after they last donned sweaters for games that mattered. </p>
<p>After skating in nearly 800 NHL games with six different teams, Aaron retired in 1992 and returned to Roseau to raise a family. He coached his old high school team for one season, leading the Rams to the state consolation championship in 2000 &ndash; one of a record 31 appearances Roseau has made in the legendary Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament. He recently stepped back into the spotlight when he was named to the class of 2007 being inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.</p>
<p>Paul, who played seven seasons in the NHL for the New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars and St. Louis Blues, lives in a St. Paul suburb and says he only skates &ldquo;for the fun of it&rdquo; these days but still follows the game closely. He lives roughly 20 minutes from brother Neal&rsquo;s horse farm in rural western Wisconsin, where the Miracle on Ice member retired in 1997 after 17 seasons in the NHL.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><strong><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/Broten-2.jpg" alt="After leading the upstart U.S. Team to a gold medal at the 1980 Olympics, Neal Broten returned to the University of Minnesota and won the Hobey Baker Award." title="After leading the upstart U.S. Team to a gold medal at the 1980 Olympics, Neal Broten returned to the University of Minnesota and won the Hobey Baker Award." class="image image-_original " width="275" height="198" /><span class="caption" style="width: 273px;">After leading the upstart U.S. Team to a gold medal at the 1980 Olympics, Neal Broten returned to the University of Minnesota and won the Hobey Baker Award.</span></span></strong>The trio last played together in 1998, donning the red, white and blue for an international tournament in Klagenfurt, Austria, and helping Team USA get back into the A pool for Olympic play. According to Aaron, these days they get together every November to hunt deer in northern Minnesota, and maybe once a summer.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />&ldquo;I live a long way from the other two, and we&rsquo;ve always got families to chase somewhere, so we don&rsquo;t get together all that much,&rdquo; says Aaron,.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />While Neal and Aaron starred on youth hockey teams in the early 1970s, the Broten family legend burst onto the Minnesota hockey scene &ldquo;for real&rdquo; in 1978, when they combined with linemate Bryan &ldquo;Butsy&rdquo; Erickson (himself a veteran of more than a decade in the NHL) to lead the Rams to an undefeated regular season and a run to the state tournament, where they finished third. A year later, Aaron and Erickson anchored another third-place finish by the Rams, while Neal helped the University of Minnesota win the NCAA title as a freshman for the Golden Gophers.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />Neal was the only player from the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team to return to college hockey, and the 1981 Gophers (with Neal, Aaron and Butsy reunited) made it back to the NCAA title game, only to be upset by archrival Wisconsin. At season&rsquo;s end, Neal became the first winner of the Hobey Baker Award, as the nation&rsquo;s top college hockey player, and both Neal and Aaron left the Gophers, signing pro contracts with the Minnesota North Stars and Colorado Rockies, respectively.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />Younger brother Paul admits that he didn&rsquo;t take hockey very seriously until he was in his teens, but his game came on strong as a high schooler. He helped the Rams to state tournament appearances as a junior in 1983 and again as a senior, and admits feeling the natural attention that came along with being the &ldquo;next in line&rdquo; in the renowned Broten hockey family.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if opponents were necessarily harder on me because of my last name, but I always heard fans and opponents talking,&rdquo; Paul says. &ldquo;Especially in high school, I always felt people were watching me.&rdquo;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />Paul adhered to family tradition, and enrolled at Minnesota, skating four seasons with the Gophers and making three trips to the NCAA Frozen Four. Interestingly enough, the final weekend of Paul&rsquo;s collegiate hockey career &ndash; the 1988 Frozen Four &ndash; took place on the same Lake Placid ice sheet where the family&rsquo;s greatest hockey glory had come eight years earlier.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />When discussing the differences in hockey style between the three brothers, Paul notes that in four years with the Gophers, he scored 122 points, while Neal (142) and Aaron (178) each recorded more points in their two-year stint at Minnesota.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />&ldquo;Neal was so unselfish and such a good playmaker, and used almost no energy skating,&rdquo; Paul says, admitting that he truly learned the game not from coaches but from playing pond hockey with his brothers and trying to anticipate where the puck would go next. </p>
<p>&ldquo;Aaron was the pure goal scorer in the family, while I was always more of a grinder.&rdquo;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br /><strong><span class="inline inline-left"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/Neal-Broten-1.jpg" alt="Neil Broten hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1995 with the New Jersey Devils." title="Neil Broten hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1995 with the New Jersey Devils." class="image image-_original " width="250" height="346" /><span class="caption" style="width: 248px;">Neil Broten hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1995 with the New Jersey Devils.</span></span></strong>In ancient times, the first-born son was treated to the best of everything, while later-arriving siblings had to fend for themselves. While the Broten parents never played such favorites, the hockey gods seemed to have determined that ancient traditions be followed when it came to the brothers&rsquo; record of on-ice success.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />Neal&rsquo;s 1979 NCAA title and 1980 gold medal were followed by the NCAA title-game run in 1981. Barely a month later, he helped the North Stars make its first run to the Stanley Cup Finals and went to the NHL playoffs nine times in his 12 years with the North Stars. </p>
<p>By contrast, Aaron played one full season in Colorado before the Rockies (who won 18 of 80 games that year) relocated to the New York City suburbs and were re-christened the New Jersey Devils. The move east didn&rsquo;t markedly improve the team&rsquo;s on-ice fortunes, and despite being among the Devils&rsquo; leading scorers every season, Aaron didn&rsquo;t skate in a playoff game until his seventh NHL season.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />The one silver lining to the Devils&rsquo; struggles was the fact that all of those years missing the playoffs left Aaron available to skate for Team USA in the spring World Championships, traveling to places like Russia, Sweden and Czechoslovakia.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />In the first week of 1990, the Devils traded Aaron to the North Stars, putting him back on a team with his brother for the first time in a decade. Later that season, when the North Stars faced Paul and the Rangers, all three Broten boys were together on a NHL rink for the first time. After the North Stars moved to Dallas and Paul went to the Stars prior to the 1993-94 season, Paul and Neal also spent two seasons as teammates. </p>
<p>And in 1995 with the Devils, Neal capped his pro career in grand fashion, getting his named etched on the Stanley Cup after New Jersey dispatched the Red Wings in four games. When those hockey gods take a shine to you, good things really follow.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />By the end of the &rsquo;90s, the trio had retired, but all three can still be found around rinks from time to time. The Broten clan was out in full force last March in St. Paul when Roseau High School made yet another trip to the state tournament and the Rams skated home with its seventh state championship.</p>
<p>Aaron still travels to the East Coast occasionally to participate in Devils alumni events, and all still get letters and hockey cards from fans seeking autographs. Paul jokes that with Neal&rsquo;s record of on-ice accolades, some fans are oblivious to the depth of hockey talent in the family.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />&ldquo;A lot of the time, folks will ask me if I&rsquo;m Neal Broten&rsquo;s brother, not even realizing that Aaron and I both played in the NHL too,&rdquo; Paul says with a laugh.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />Last winter, as a sophomore at Bethel University in a Twin Cities suburb, Aaron&rsquo;s son, Kevin, played in 24 games for the Royals and is carrying on the family name on the ice. While it&rsquo;s certainly a source of pride, sitting in a small rink watching his son play college hockey also serves as a reminder for Aaron that time marches on.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />&ldquo;Age is certainly catching up with us,&rdquo; Aaron admits, noting that many friendly encounters with fans still serve as a reminder of one&rsquo;s advancing years.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />&ldquo;I always have people coming up and saying, &lsquo;I played against you for Red Lake Falls in 1978,&rsquo; or asking if I remember a particular game from high school,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;And a few years ago I was coaching at a hockey school when a kid skated up and said, &lsquo;My dad scored against you in a high school game.&rsquo; &rdquo;<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />Faced with those kinds of reminders of how long ago the glory years were, maybe one can better understand the tendency of hockey legends like the Brotens to shy away from the phone when a reporter calls looking to re-live the past.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />In this computer age, where the push of a few buttons can make a cell phone ring halfway around the world, the Broten brothers serve as a reminder of an earlier era.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <br />Neal, Aaron and Paul Broten are proud of what they accomplished, together and individually, but they have long since moved on. The game they once excelled at is now but a distant memory. It no longer defines who they are, at least not in their eyes. The rest of the hockey world may be a little slower in coming to grips with that.</p>
<p>There&rsquo;s a world of communication technology out there waiting to re-discover them and re-publicize their feats to the next generation of American hockey players. But when those opportunities come calling, the Brotens seem to instinctually know when it&rsquo;s the right time to let the answering machine get it. </p>
<h6>Photos by Getty Images</h6>
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Issue:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/issue/2007-09">2007-09</a> </div>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2007-09/broten-core#commentsAmerican HockeyHockey BrothersMinn.MinnesotaRoseauThe Broten brothersFeatureThu, 09 Jun 2011 17:20:37 +0000admin5057 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comThe American Hockey Family Treehttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2007-09/american-hockey-family-tree
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<a href="/author/zac-clark">Zac Clark</a> </div>
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<p>When it comes to hockey talent, the apple doesn&rsquo;t fall far from the family tree, such as in the case of the Johnson and Eaves families. In the case of the Granatos and Millers, bloodlines run deep and are passed on from brother to sister, and cousin to cousin. Here&rsquo;s a look at some of the more notable American hockey families:</p>
<p><strong><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/Christian-brothers_0.jpg" alt="Roger Christian" title="Roger Christian" class="image image-_original " width="150" height="150" /><span class="caption" style="width: 148px;">Roger Christian</span></span><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/Bill_Christian-brothers.jpg" alt="Bill Christian" title="Bill Christian" class="image image-_original " width="150" height="150" /><span class="caption" style="width: 148px;">Bill Christian</span></span>Bill, Roger and David Christian</strong><br />The Christian family was in the business of winning gold medals and manufacturing hockey sticks. Brothers Bill and Roger grew up in Warroad, Minn., and were the original golden boys that won the 1960 Olympic Games in Squaw Valley, Calif. Both Roger and Bill came up big for Team USA, scoring game-winning goals and leading come-from-behind victories en route to the gold medal. Bill&rsquo;s son, Dave, was part of the Miracle on Ice, the gold-medal successors to the 1960 team. Dave went on to play in more than 1,000 NHL games. Following the 1960 Games, the brothers started manufacturing their own line of sticks, appropriately branded Christian Brothers. </p>
<p><strong>Bill and Bob Cleary</strong><br />Another dynamic duo of the 1960 U.S. Olympic Team was the Cleary brothers, Bob and Bill. The brothers are legendary figures in Massachusetts hockey history. They were standouts at Belmont Hill prep school, where older brother Bob led his team to three consecutive Massachusetts private school titles. Bob went on to lead the nation in scoring in consecutive years at Harvard University, while Bill followed at Harvard several years later, setting several school scoring records. The late addition of the Clearys on the 1960 team paid off, as Bill led the 1960 team in scoring with Bob finishing third. Bill went on to a long career as coach and athletics director at his college alma mater.</p>
<p><strong><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/Ted-Drury.jpg" alt="Ted Drury" title="Ted Drury" class="image image-_original " width="150" height="150" /><span class="caption" style="width: 148px;">Ted Drury</span></span><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/Chris-Drury.jpg" alt="Chris Drury" title="Chris Drury" class="image image-_original " width="150" height="150" /><span class="caption" style="width: 148px;">Chris Drury</span></span>Chris and Ted Drury</strong><br />A Hobey Baker winner at Boston University, Chris Drury is one of the most feared playmakers in the NHL. A native of Trumbull, Conn., Chris will be playing close to home this season when he suits up for the New York Rangers. His older brother, Ted, played in more than 400 NHL games and was a member of Team USA for the 1992 and 1994 Olympic Winter Games. He is currently playing in Europe. Chris also wore the red, white and blue sweater for the 2002 and 2006 Olympics. <br /><strong><br />Mike, Ben and Patrick Eaves</strong><br />After eight seasons in the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars and Calgary Flames, Mike began a long and distinguished coaching career that includes leading the U.S. World Junior Team to its first gold medal in 2004. The following season he returned to his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, and won a national title in 2006. His son, Patrick, was born in Calgary but grew up in Fairbault, Minn. Patrick played three seasons at Boston College and just completed his second season with the Ottawa Senators. He was also a member of the 2004 U.S. World Junior team. His brother Ben plays in the Pittsburgh Penguins system. </p>
<p><strong><br /><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/Peter_Ferraro-Brothers.jpg" alt="Peter Ferraro" title="Peter Ferraro" class="image image-_original " width="150" height="150" /><span class="caption" style="width: 148px;">Peter Ferraro</span></span><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/Chris_Ferraro-Brothers.jpg" alt="Chris Ferraro" title="Chris Ferraro" class="image image-_original " width="150" height="150" /><span class="caption" style="width: 148px;">Chris Ferraro</span></span>Chris and Peter Ferraro</strong><br />Twin brothers Chris and Peter have been practically inseparable since birth. The Port Jefferson, N.Y., brothers played together for three years of Junior hockey in the USHL as well as two World Junior Championships with Team USA and two seasons at the University of Maine. Peter was selected in the first round of the 1992 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers, followed by the blue shirts picking up Chris three rounds later. Despite playing in just two games with the Rangers during his rookie season, Chris&rsquo;s only goal came on an assist from his brother. After their second season in New York, the duo was released and signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was during the 1998-99 season when Chris signed with the Edmonton Oilers that the brothers split up for the first time. </p>
<p><strong>Tony, Don and Cammi Granato</strong><br />No player embodies U.S. women&rsquo;s hockey more than Cammi Granato. She was the face of Team USA as the all-time leading scorer and was captain from the team&rsquo;s inception in 1990. She led Team USA to the first gold medal for women&rsquo;s hockey in the 1998 Olympics and added a silver in the 2002 Olympics. Older brother Tony represented the United States in several World Championships and the 1988 Olympics. He played 13 seasons in the NHL with the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks, including three 30-goal seasons with the Kings. He now coaches with the Colorado Avalanche. After four years at the University of Wisconsin and two years in the ECHL, brother Don embarked on a coaching career in the USHL, ECHL and AHL. </p>
<p><strong>Bob and Mark Johnson</strong><br />&ldquo;Badger Bob&rdquo; is perhaps one of the most influential figures in American hockey, and his son, Mark, is cast in history as part of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team. Bob is a coaching legend at the University of Wisconsin, where he led the men&rsquo;s team to three national championships. He went on to coach several U.S. national teams and serve as executive director for USA Hockey. Mark is following in his father&rsquo;s coaching footsteps. He led the Badgers women&rsquo;s team to consecutive national titles in 2006 and 2007 and also served as a coach of the U.S. women&rsquo;s national team for international competition through 2006-07. </p>
<p><strong>Peter, David, Mike and Max McNab</strong><br />Peter was a standout player during three seasons at the University of Denver. He played in more than 950 NHL games during his 14-year career, and was a consistent producer who reached the 20-goal mark 10 times in his career, including two 40-goal seasons with the Boston Bruins. His brother, David, was the goaltender for the 1977 national champion Wisconsin Badgers. Both Peter and David are still involved in the game. Peter is the color analyst for the Colorado Avalanche, and David is the assistant general manager for the Anaheim Ducks. Their dad Max is a retired NHL executive. </p>
<p><strong>Kip, Kelly, Kevin, Ryan and Drew Miller</strong><br />Two players in the history of Michigan State hockey have won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top collegiate player, and both&nbsp; are named Miller. Kip, the last among three brothers to play for the Spartans, won the Hobey in 1990. His cousin, Ryan, was the recipient in 2001, becoming only the second goalie to earn the award. From 1981-90, there was a Miller suiting up for the Spartans. Kelly, the eldest brother, went on to play in more than 1,000 NHL games, while the middle brother, Kevin, appeared in 620 games. Kip continues his distinguished career skating with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. Cousin Ryan, a backstopper for the Buffalo Sabres, is one of the premier goalies in the NHL, and his brother, Drew, was part of the Stanley Cup winning Anaheim Ducks in 2007. <br /><strong><br /><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/Brian-Mullen.jpg" alt="Brian Mullen" title="Brian Mullen" class="image image-_original " width="150" height="150" /><span class="caption" style="width: 148px;">Brian Mullen</span></span><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/Joe-Mullen.jpg" alt="Joe Mullen" title="Joe Mullen" class="image image-_original " width="150" height="150" /><span class="caption" style="width: 148px;">Joe Mullen</span></span>Joe and Brian Mullen </strong><br />Brothers Brian and Joe grew up playing roller hockey in the streets of Hell&rsquo;s Kitchen, N.Y., and both had successful professional careers. Older brother Joe played four seasons at Boston College and was a member of the consecutive Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins in the early 1990s. He was also the first American-born player to reach the 1,000-point milestone. Brian played his collegiate hockey with the University of Wisconsin before entering the league in 1982, in which he produced a 50-point rookie season. His playing career ended abruptly after he suffered a mild stroke in 1993. </p>
<p><strong>Gary, Bob and Ryan Suter</strong><br />The Suter name is synonymous with defense and Madison, Wis. Gary was a rugged defenseman who patrolled the blue line for 17 seasons in the NHL. He was the Calder Trophy winner as the league&rsquo;s top rookie in 1986, and won a Stanley Cup in 1989 with the Calgary Flames. His brother, Bob, was a defenseman on the 1980 gold medal Olympic team. The next generation of Suter defenders is Bob&rsquo;s son, Ryan, who will be entering his third season with the Nashville Predators. J</p>
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Issue:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/issue/2007-09">2007-09</a> </div>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2007-09/american-hockey-family-tree#commentsAmerican HockeyHockey FamilyNHLFeatureThu, 09 Jun 2011 16:38:04 +0000admin5053 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comCan Sid the Kid Help Grow Hockey in America?http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2007-10/can-sid-kid-help-grow-hockey-america
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The NHL And USA Hockey Are Banking On The Talented 20-Year-Old To Bring The Game To The Masses </div>
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By:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/author/joe-sager">Joe Sager</a> </div>
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<p><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://ushockeymagazine.org/sites/default/files/images/Feat2_Sid-Face-Off-spread.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-_original " width="525" height="350" /></span></p>
<p>Can you name the most-popular sport in Western Pennsylvania in 2005? If you guess football, you&rsquo;re wrong. Baseball? Nope. Basketball? Sorry. Try pingpong. That&rsquo;s right, pingpong. </p>
<p>OK, so maybe it really wasn&rsquo;t at the top of the list, but the little white ball used in the sport has had a gigantic impact in the region. </p>
<p>That summer, hockey fans and players in Western Pennsylvania quickly became huge fans of that little white ball. That&rsquo;s because it gave the Pittsburgh Penguins the first-overall draft choice and the chance to select a highly-touted prospect named Sidney Crosby.</p>
<p>Since joining the Penguins, Crosby has dazzled fans with his magic on the ice and captivated them off it with his charismatic personality.</p>
<p>Following a rookie season in which he became the youngest player to reach 102 points, Crosby continued his mastery during the 2006-07 season. He became the NHL&rsquo;s youngest scoring champion and was named the league&rsquo;s MVP &ndash; all before his 20th birthday. </p>
<p>His personal success translated into positive results for the Penguins. Crosby led the team to a 47-24-11 mark and 105 points &ndash; a stunning 47-point improvement over the previous season. It was the fourth-biggest turnaround in NHL history from one year to the next and earned the Penguins its first Stanley Cup playoff berth since 2001.</p>
<p>Yet, Crosby may not even be aware of his biggest achievement &ndash; a huge hockey boom in Western Pennsylvania, as well as across the country. Pittsburgh-area rinks are buzzing with an influx of hockey players &ndash; young and old &ndash; who have rediscovered the sport since The Kid&rsquo;s arrival from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, in 2005. </p>
<p>&ldquo;If that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s happening, I am happy that I am able to do that,&rdquo; says the humble superstar. &ldquo;I really love the game. If kids are looking at me as a role model, that is great. I am trying to do my best to be a good role model. It&rsquo;s definitely fun to see more kids playing, that&rsquo;s for sure.&rdquo;</p>
<p>And if they want to watch him play, whether it&rsquo;s in Pittsburgh or at one of the other NHL arenas in the United States, that&rsquo;s alright by him.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We have a pretty exciting team. People see our team and see the energy we have,&rdquo; says Crosby. </p>
<p>&ldquo;I just think with the youth and energy our team brings, it&rsquo;s hard not to want to follow that and hard not to get excited when you see the hard work we put into the game.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://ushockeymagazine.org/sites/default/files/images/Feat2_Crosby-Action.jpg" alt="Sidney Crosby has taken Pittsburgh by storm in his first two seasons in the NHL." title="Sidney Crosby has taken Pittsburgh by storm in his first two seasons in the NHL." class="image image-_original " width="250" height="330" /><span class="caption" style="width: 248px;">Sidney Crosby has taken Pittsburgh by storm in his first two seasons in the NHL.</span></span></strong>The Penguins boast a bounty of young, exciting talent with the likes of Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury and Ryan Whitney &ndash; among others &ndash; but it&rsquo;s Crosby who leads the way.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Sid is the engine driving this train,&rdquo; says Mark Shuttleworth, the Penguins&rsquo; director of amateur hockey. &ldquo;The other guys make it bigger and better.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Crosby has done for Western Pennsylvania what Wayne Gretzky did for California back when &ldquo;The Great One&rdquo; put hockey on the map once he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988. Granted, hockey in California had farther to go than it did in Pittsburgh, which has produced a number of talented players and competitive teams, but there&rsquo;s little doubt that interest in hockey in the Pittsburgh area is soaring. </p>
<p>&ldquo;Our summer camps are sell-out events. They are bursting at the seams,&rdquo; Shuttleworth says. &ldquo;Especially the little kids &ndash; all these young kids are entering hockey. There are older kids taking up hockey now, too. They are the kids that made a pass on playing hockey at that younger age because it wasn&rsquo;t that much in the limelight. Just across the board you&rsquo;re seeing a boom.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Crosby&rsquo;s impact has helped boost the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League &ndash; a growing high school circuit, which includes the Penguins&rsquo; Ryan Malone and the Flyers&rsquo; R.J. Umberger among its alumni.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The kids are coming. We knew this three years ago,&rdquo; says PIHL Commissioner Ed Sam. &ldquo;My thoughts were they&rsquo;d come in at 5, 6 and 7 years old. What we saw this year was this influx into high school hockey, too. I can&rsquo;t believe the numbers we&rsquo;re getting.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Sidney has spurred so many different things to happen. We have 15 more teams this year than last year. That&rsquo;s probably a 10 percent increase. I am anticipating a 10 percent roster increase as well. Sidney&rsquo;s influence and attitude have been unbelievable.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Paul Day, a USA Hockey Mid-American District director, agrees.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Definitely in Western Pennsylvania &ndash; Pittsburgh, Morgantown &ndash; and Eastern Ohio &ndash; probably even out as far as Cleveland &ndash; we&rsquo;re seeing the interest in him,&rdquo; says Day. &ldquo;Our numbers are up. In the Pittsburgh area, we&rsquo;re at about a two-percent growth, which is good for us. It&rsquo;s reminding us of the days of Mario [Lemieux]. Only we&rsquo;re better positioned for it today.&rdquo;</p>
<p>When &ldquo;Super&rdquo; Mario came to the Steel City in 1984, there were only eight rinks in all of Western Pennsylvania. Today, there are more than 25 sheets of ice and more kids flocking to them all year round. </p>
<p>&ldquo;There is excitement in the organization and there are new youths inquiring all the time about learn-to-play programs,&rdquo; says Day. &ldquo;The enrollments are going to be up again this year. We&rsquo;re expecting a real burgeoning of the sport.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong><span class="inline inline-left"><img src="http://ushockeymagazine.org/sites/default/files/images/Feat2_Crosby-with-66-no-clip.jpg" alt="The impact that Mario Lemieux (left) had on hockey in Pittsburgh continues to be enormous. The Penguins, and the rest of the NHL, are hoping Sidney Crosby can take the game to the next level of popularity." title="The impact that Mario Lemieux (left) had on hockey in Pittsburgh continues to be enormous. The Penguins, and the rest of the NHL, are hoping Sidney Crosby can take the game to the next level of popularity." class="image image-_original " width="300" height="202" /><span class="caption" style="width: 298px;">The impact that Mario Lemieux (left) had on hockey in Pittsburgh continues to be enormous. The Penguins, and the rest of the NHL, are hoping Sidney Crosby can take the game to the next level of popularity.</span></span></strong>Crosby&rsquo;s influence hasn&rsquo;t been seen around the Pittsburgh area since his landlord Mario Lemieux burst onto the scene as a 19-year-old rookie. Crosby resides with the Lemieux family in Pittsburgh during the NHL season.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Mario&rsquo;s impact was huge. The difference is, Mario made hockey happen here. It was definitely a niche sport,&rdquo; Shuttleworth says. &ldquo;Mario made everyone want to play hockey, especially if you went to one of those lucky few high schools that had a team. </p>
<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s why there are all these rinks here now. It really got a huge boost by the two Stanley Cups [in 1991 and 1992], too. There would be no youth hockey in Pittsburgh as there would be no Penguins in Pittsburgh without Mario. What he&rsquo;s done for this area can never be repeated or repaid. Now that there is a hockey foundation and base, Sidney is taking it to the next level.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Crosby, who turned 20 on Aug. 7 (he was born 8/7/87 and wears No. 87), shrugs off any comparisons. He knows the NHL is not a one-player league. </p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not something I put solely on my shoulders. We have a lot of guys in this league who can bring excitement, that&rsquo;s for sure,&rdquo; says Crosby, who won a USA Hockey National Championship with Shattuck-St. Mary&rsquo;s in 2003. </p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to be part of that group. No way do I want to put the focus on me. It&rsquo;s a great game with a lot of great players. I think it&rsquo;ll take more than one player to do that. I will try to do my part, but there&rsquo;s no shortage of great players in the league. I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s going to be an issue.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Gretzky and Lemieux are two NHL greats Crosby constantly gains comparisons to, not only for his excitement on the ice, but for his ability to serve as an ambassador to the sport on a national and international level.</p>
<p>Dave Hanson, general manager of the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center &ndash; a former NHL player and one of the famous Hanson Brothers from the movie &ldquo;Slap Shot&rdquo; &ndash; believes Crosby is worth mentioning in the same breath as those two Hall of Famers.</p>
<table style="width: 196px; height: 662px;" border="0" cellspacing="10" cellpadding="20" align="right">
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<h3>Top 10 Selling NHL Jerseys For 2006-07&nbsp; (Sold on NHL.com) <br /></h3>
<p><strong>1. Sidney Crosby</strong>, Pittsburgh Penguins<br /> <strong>2. Ryan Miller</strong>, Buffalo Sabres<br /> <strong>3. Maxim Afinogenov</strong>, Buffalo Sabres<br /> <strong>4. Daniel Briere</strong>, Buffalo Sabres<br /> <strong>5. Alex Ovechkin</strong>, Washington Capitals<br /> <strong>6. Peter Forsberg</strong>, Philadelphia Flyers / Nashville Predators<br /> <strong>7. Teemu Selanne</strong>, Anaheim Ducks<br /> <strong>8. Jaromir Jagr</strong>, New York Rangers<br /> <strong>9. Chris Drury</strong>, Buffalo Sabres<br /> <strong>10. Henrik Lundqvist</strong>, New York Rangers</p>
<h3><strong>Sid At The Gate</strong></h3>
<p>Since coming into the league in 2005, Sidney Crosby has helped the Pittsburgh Penguins become one of the top drawing teams in the NHL.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Note:</strong> In 2006-07, the Penguins finished with 30 sellouts, the third-highest total in team history.<strong><br /></strong></p>
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<p>&ldquo;I played when Gretzky broke in and I played against Mario when he was a rookie. You had the same phenomenon then because he was a young guy,&rdquo; Hanson says.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Certainly, [Gretzky] was the face of the NHL and on his way to setting some pretty awesome records. When Mario hit the scene and what he did for Pittsburgh and hockey as well &ndash; he did the same thing. I think, basically, you&rsquo;ve now got that in Sidney Crosby, especially after the game has missed a guy like Mario and Gretzky for so long.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The timing couldn&rsquo;t be better for the NHL, which is still licking its wounds from the yearlong lockout that scuttled the 2004-05 season. It&rsquo;s not just Crosby&rsquo;s highlight reel goals that have caught the attention of fans; it&rsquo;s his good looks, boyish charm and a passion for the game that has won over fans, old and new alike.</p>
<p>&ldquo;For a 19-year-old, [Crosby] always says the right thing,&rdquo; says Day. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing you hear from that young man that doesn&rsquo;t tell you he&rsquo;s a bona fide player. He has a lot of respect for his fans, his family and the community &ndash; everything. </p>
<p>&ldquo;I think he will make a dramatic impact on the sport nationally. I don&rsquo;t see how he couldn&rsquo;t. People identify with him and they identify with the sport. Sidney has brought a magnificent talent to the game and a magnificent personality with that, and I think it will cause the sport to burgeon.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Crosby&rsquo;s popularity is soaring. His No. 87 Penguins jersey was the top seller on Shop.NHL.com during the 2006-07 season and he was the leading vote getter for the NHL All-Star Game with 825,783 votes &ndash; 161,852 more than Joe Thornton, who finished second. </p>
<p>Oh, and good luck getting a ticket at rinks around the league when Crosby and the Penguins are slated for a visit. </p>
<p>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s clear that he has become, in a larger part, one of the faces of the NHL. Clearly, he is front and center of where we are and where we want to go in the future,&rdquo; says NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daily. &ldquo;He has a very high profile. A lot of it has to do with his likeability. That&rsquo;s not a dynamic we&rsquo;ve had a lot of in recent years, but it&rsquo;s something he and a lot of our younger players have.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The NHL hopes to continue to market Crosby across the United States and Canada to promote the sport.</p>
<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s been a primary focus since lockout. All our players, especially Sid in particular, are happy to do anything to help grow the game,&rdquo; Daly says. </p>
<p>&ldquo;His exposure on NBC and Versus was very high profile. They look heavily at the Sid factor and the Penguins factor. That&rsquo;s true with television stations in Canada as well. </p>
<p>&ldquo;It goes with being the face of the league. This league was very fortunate for 20 years to have a guy like Wayne Gretzky out front as the face of the league. I think Sid clearly has big shoes to fill in that regard. </p>
<p>&ldquo;So far, he hasn&rsquo;t missed a step.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<hr />
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>The Next Wave</h2>
<h5>Here are five American players to watch for this year, as reported by Kyle Woodlief of the Red Line Report.<br /></h5>
<p><strong><em><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://ushockeymagazine.org/sites/default/files/images/Feat2_Upcoming.jpg" alt="Left to Right: Jimmy Hayes, Colin Wilson, Zach Bogosian, Thomas McCollum, Justin Florek" title="Left to Right: Jimmy Hayes, Colin Wilson, Zach Bogosian, Thomas McCollum, Justin Florek" class="image image-_original " width="525" height="130" /><span class="caption" style="width: 523px;">Left to Right: Jimmy Hayes, Colin Wilson, Zach Bogosian, Thomas McCollum, Justin Florek</span></span></em></strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Jimmy Hayes</strong><br /><em>Dorchester, Mass.</em></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">National Team Development Program</span><br />Has all the physical attributes to be a stud power forward. Is already 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, and is a decent skater who is tremendous on the cycle down low. Uses his body and long reach to shield the puck from defenders and bull his way to the net. Difficult to separate from the puck. Has good hands in the slot and a nice release.</p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Colin Wilson</strong><br /><em>Greenwich, Conn.</em></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Boston University (Hockey East)</span><br />A physically dominating, take-charge guy. A vocal leader on the ice. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just a warrior," said NTDP coach Ron Rolston. "He&rsquo;s very strong and takes great pride in his off-ice conditioning program. He&rsquo;s got good size and positions himself effectively on offense.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Zach Bogosian</strong><br /><em>Massena, N.Y.</em></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Peterborough Petes (OHL)</span><br />A tough as nails (both physically and mentally) defender who will be a team leader wherever he goes due to his outstanding attitude and work ethic. He hits hard and often, is very defensively aware, makes a crisp first pass out of the zone, always plays within himself, and is just beginning to emerge offensively.</p>
<p><strong>Thomas McCollum </strong><br /><em>Sanborn, N.Y. </em></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Guelph Storm (OHL)</span><br />Has good size and technique, and already got a lot of experience with Guelph last year against high caliber shooters in the OHL. Moves well side-to-side and exhibits nice athleticism. Plays &ldquo;quiet&rdquo; in net without a lot of wasted movement. He needs to work on catching the puck cleanly and handling it around the crease in general.</p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Justin Florek</strong><br /><em>Marquette, Mich.</em></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">National Team Development Program</span><br />A huge winger with tremendous physical tools. At 6-foot-4, 197 pounds, he is lean and athletic with a huge frame and should fill out into a huge man. Has a long, smooth skating stride and great reach that he uses to shield defenders from the puck. Has an excellent release on a heavy snap shot.</p>
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Issue:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/issue/2007-10">2007-10</a> </div>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2007-10/can-sid-kid-help-grow-hockey-america#commentsAmerican HockeyhockeyPittsburgh PenguinsSid the KidSidney Crosbyyouth hockeyFeatureTue, 07 Jun 2011 20:44:32 +0000admin5007 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comThe Team That Never Gave Uphttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2011-06/team-never-gave
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Resilient Americans Lay Claim To Third Straight Under-18 Title </div>
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By:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/author/chris-peters">Chris Peters</a> </div>
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<p><span class="inline inline-none"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/3-times-celebrate.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-_original " width="525" height="342" /></span></p>
<p>Adversity comes in all shapes and sizes. Fortunately, so does resiliency. </p>
<p>Sometimes it shows up in the words of an impassioned speech. Other times it appears in the form of a heroic deed. And more often than not, it shines brightest in an hour of need.</p>
<p>Trailing, 3-1, heading into the third period of the gold-medal game of the 2011 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, the U.S. Men&rsquo;s National Under-18 Team was staring adversity straight in the face.</p>
<p>Head coach Ron Rolston kept things simple in the dressing room during the second intermission, emphasizing a few points that he hoped would help his team back on track heading into the final frame. While his words resonated with his young charges, it was the object he pointed to before leaving the locker room that served as the greatest reminder.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We had a team mission statement tacked up in the locker room,&rdquo; said U.S. defenseman Connor Murphy. &ldquo;It said that we wanted to be known as a team that never gave up. And [Rolston] pointed to those words on the wall and said that if we wanted to live by that, we had to come back.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Murphy was no stranger to comebacks. The Dublin, Ohio, native struggled through a wide range of injuries that limited him to just 16 games over the past two seasons. Just being healthy enough to play in the World Under-18 Championship was a major victory for the big defenseman.</p>
<p>It was now his time to shine, which he did with a goal early in the final stanza that jumpstarted the American attack.</p>
<p><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/u18-game-tying-goal.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-_original " width="255" height="165" /></span>&ldquo;With that goal, we got confidence, and the momentum was with us,&rdquo; Murphy said.</p>
<p>With momentum swinging throughout the third period, it wasn&rsquo;t until Reid Boucher scored with just 1:29 left in regulation to complete the comeback.</p>
<p>With regulation ending in a tie, Team USA found itself in another rise-to-the-occasion moment.</p>
<p>Once again, it was Murphy who answered the call. After taking a pass from U.S. captain Robbie Russo, Murphy&rsquo;s first attempt was blocked, but he refused to give up on the play.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I knew I needed to just hit it really hard to get it up into the corner. Once it happened, hearing the ping of the bar really set me off,&rdquo; Murphy said of his gold-medal winning goal.</p>
<p>It proved to be the shot heard round the international hockey community and gave the U.S. its unprecedented third straight gold medal and sixth overall at the World Men&rsquo;s Under-18 Championship.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Whenever I was at my lowest times I knew that if I stuck with it I&rsquo;d end up getting my break. I am really happy that it paid off,&rdquo; Murphy said of his injury struggles.</p>
<p>In the eyes of his coach, his resolve was emblematic of this U.S. national team as a whole.</p>
<p>&ldquo;This team had a lot of character and personality to it,&rdquo; Rolston said. &ldquo;[It] was a team that, no matter what challenge you put in front of them, they weren&rsquo;t going to be beaten.&rdquo;</p>
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<a href="/issue/2011-06">2011-06</a> </div>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2011-06/team-never-gave#comments2011 championshipAmerican HockeyU.S. Men’s National Under-18 TeamFeatureFri, 27 May 2011 16:41:57 +0000admin4858 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comJack Takes Second Shot At Olympic Goldhttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2007-11/jack-takes-second-shot-olympic-gold
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<a href="/author/zac-clark">Zac Clark</a> </div>
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<p><strong><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/hero_1960-Olympics-shot.jpg" alt="Jack Kirrane (3) sandwiched disappointments in 1952 and 1956 around a pair of stellar Olympic efforts in 1948 and 1960." title="Jack Kirrane (3) sandwiched disappointments in 1952 and 1956 around a pair of stellar Olympic efforts in 1948 and 1960." class="image image-_original " width="380" height="296" /><span class="caption" style="width: 378px;">Jack Kirrane (3) sandwiched disappointments in 1952 and 1956 around a pair of stellar Olympic efforts in 1948 and 1960.</span></span></strong>Jack Kirrane was watching the 1948 U.S. Olympic Team practice at the old Boston Arena when the rink manager called out to the coach. </p>
<p>&ldquo;He said to the coach, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve got a better player in my workshop here than you have on the ice,&rsquo; &rdquo; recalled Kirrane.</p>
<p>Later that evening, the 17-year-old defenseman from Brookline, Mass., was playing in an exhibition game for the U.S. team. Kirrane was offered a spot on the &rsquo;48 Olympic Team following the game and would soon be heading to St. Moritz, Switzerland.&nbsp; </p>
<p>The U.S. squad finished fourth at the Games, as Kirrane could only watch&nbsp; Team USA&rsquo;s final games because American Hockey Vice President Walter Brown kept him off the ice in fear that he would reopen the stitches in his face.&nbsp; </p>
<p>Kirrane&rsquo;s playing days came to a grinding halt when he joined the military for three years, causing him to miss the 1952 Olympics. He found himself in a similar position before the 1956 Olympics as he watched the U.S. squad practice.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Walter Brown was there and he says to me, &lsquo;Are you trying out today?&rsquo; &rdquo; recalled Kirrane. &ldquo;I said no. In fact I had my equipment in the car, but asked if I was eligible. </p>
<p>Walter says, &lsquo;Of course you&rsquo;re eligible.&rsquo; &rdquo;</p>
<p>It wasn&rsquo;t as simple for Kirrane to pick up and take off like he did as a 17-year-old for the &rsquo;48 Games. He had a family and a job as a firefighter back in Massachusetts.</p>
<p>Despite his commitments, Kirrane was itching to get back on the ice. So he set his sights on the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, Calif.&nbsp; </p>
<p>&ldquo;I had to get ready to make that &rsquo;60 team,&rdquo; Kirrane said. &ldquo;I made it and that was it. I was there from day one until the end.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He was there, not only serving as team captain and anchoring the blue line, but also playing outside the box from the conventional defensive position.</p>
<p>Nearly unheard of at the time, Kirrane would resort to blocking shots with his body to help alleviate the pressure off U.S. netminder Jack McCartan. </p>
<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think the Russians had ever seen a half-decent blocked shot,&rdquo; Kirrane said. &ldquo;I used to take pride in that &mdash; there&rsquo;s a knack to it so you don&rsquo;t get hurt.&rdquo;</p>
<p>His blocked shots helped&nbsp; Team USA preserve a 2-1 win against the Canadians, as well as two comeback victories against the Soviets and the gold-medal deciding game against the Czech Republic. </p>
<p>Even after he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987, Kirrane never strayed far from the rink in his beloved home state of Massachusetts.</p>
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<h2><em><em><span class="inline inline-left"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/hero_Damian-Rhodes.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-_original " width="108" height="165" /></span></em></em></h2>
<h2><em>WHERE ARE THEY NOW?</em></h2>
<h2><strong>Damian Rhodes</strong><br /></h2>
<p>Damian Rhodes dreamed of playing in the NHL as he worked his way through the youth hockey ranks in St. Paul, Minn.</p>
<p>He went on to play four years with the Michigan Tech Huskies in the late 1980s, and was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He received his big break in 1996 when he was traded to the Ottawa Senators.</p>
<p>With the Sens, he landed his first starting role. Wins were hard to come by early on, but as Ottawa improved, so did Rhodes&rsquo; bottom line.</p>
<p>Expansion in 1999 saw Rhodes pack his bags and head south to the Atlanta Thrashers. </p>
<p>Injuries would hamper Rhodes throughout much of his career. </p>
<p>He retired in 2003 and now resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., and has been working as a coach with the U.S. Sled Hockey Team.</p>
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<p><span class="inline inline-left"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/hero_1960-Olympics-shot_0.thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-thumbnail " width="100" height="78" /></span></p>
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Issue:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/issue/2007-11">2007-11</a> </div>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2007-11/jack-takes-second-shot-olympic-gold#commentsAmerican HockeyJack KirraneU.S. OlympicsHistory and HeroesThu, 05 May 2011 21:23:24 +0000admin4794 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.comPoint Breakhttp://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2007-12/point-break
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Mike Modano’s Impact On American Hockey Goes Well Beyond Setting The All-Time Points Mark </div>
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By:&nbsp;</div>
<a href="/author/mike-heika">Mike Heika</a> </div>
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<p><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/0712_Modano-Goal.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-_original " width="380" height="261" /></span>In true storybook fashion, the reality of Mike Modano&rsquo;s legacy was solidified by way of a short-handed breakaway goal that changed the record books of American hockey.</p>
<p>On November 7, Modano eclipsed Phil Housley as the all-time American-born point getter in the National Hockey League, a feat that cast a new light on hockey in the United States.</p>
<p>Modano was raised in the hockey-rich state of Michigan where he honed his skills until leaving for Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and the Western Hockey League at age 16. It was a move that was considered at the time to be pretty rare for an American-born player.</p>
<p>But in his three years in the rough and tumble Western Hockey League, Modano came to respect the game in a different way. He came to realize there was an immense jump in the level of play from the games he played at the highest select level around Detroit.</p>
<p>So when Modano was first confronted with his chase for scoring records among players born in the United States, the 37-year-old center flinched a little bit. </p>
<p>Sure, it was nice to be honored and everything, but Joe Sakic had 300 more points and 100 more goals, Steve Yzerman had almost 500 more points. Heck, Team USA contemporary Brett Hull (who was born in Ontario) had 100 more points and 200 more goals.</p>
<p>&ldquo;If I was born 10 miles to the East,&rdquo; Modano said of the looming city of Windsor just across the Detroit River, &ldquo;nobody would be making a big deal out of this.&rdquo;</p>
<p>And, for a long while, he had a hard time savoring the chase.</p>
<p>But when Modano broke Phil Housley&rsquo;s record for most points scored by a player born in the USA &mdash; potting two goals in a 3-1 win over San Jose Nov. 7 to get to 1,233 points &mdash; he said it finally sank in that he had done something special.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I think the whole process has helped me understand what it means &mdash; to me, to USA Hockey, to just hockey in the States and Minnesota and Texas,&rdquo; Modano said. &ldquo;You just realize how much has changed over the last 20 years and you&rsquo;re thankful that maybe you have had the ability to help change some things. I would have never ever thought that this is the path I would have taken, but I&rsquo;m glad it turned out this way.&rdquo;</p>
<p>All it took for Modano to realize what he has meant to the hockey world was a brief look around the Stars locker room during training camp in September.</p>
<p>Over in one corner was 23-year-old Chris Conner. The scrappy forward grew up in the same area around Livonia, Mich., as Modano and heard stories of the speedy skating and offensive dominance that Modano put down as a teenager on the area rinks.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Everyone knew who he was, everyone watched his career, he was a really big deal,&rdquo; Conner said. &ldquo;I definitely think, coming from that area, every youth league kid heard the stories about him and dreamed that maybe they could be just like him. He was definitely an inspiration.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Over in another corner was Matt Niskanen, a 20-year-old defenseman from Virginia, Minn. Even though the North Stars moved when he was 7, he continued to follow them in Dallas because the first hockey player he ever wanted to become was Mike Modano.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I mean, he was my favorite from the start,&rdquo; Niskanen said. &ldquo;He was so much fun to watch, and I think everyone in the neighborhood wanted to be him. The team moved away, but it was still our team.&rdquo;</p>
<p><span class="inline inline-left"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/0712_Modano-Cele.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-_original " width="202" height="252" /></span>Yes, but it also became the team of Dallas, Texas &mdash; especially when Modano helped lead the Stars to the top of the NHL standings, including six division titles, two trips to the Stanley Cup Finals and one Stanley Cup championship.</p>
<p>As he worked out in a University of Texas T-shirt (&ldquo;My mom went there,&rdquo; he exclaimed), 2007 Stars draft pick Austin Smith said Modano played a part in his hockey ascension, as well. The Dallas native said his favorite player growing up was Jamie Langenbrunner, but that Modano to him is like hockey royalty.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It was just so neat to look across the room (at practice) and there he was,&rdquo; said Smith, 18, who is playing for Penticton of the BCHL this season and has committed to Colgate for next season. &ldquo;I mean, c&rsquo;mon, he&rsquo;s Mike Modano.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Modano has left his legacy scattered across the country at different age levels and for different reasons.</p>
<p>Stars center Jeff Halpern, 31, grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and was a huge fan of the Capitals, listing his childhood hero as Dale Hunter. But, he added, that when he became old enough to be a part of USA Hockey, the player he most connected with was Modano.</p>
<p>&ldquo;There are so many great players in the program that you hate to single one out, but, to me, Modano is the one guy who really got you up out of your seat and excited about watching those teams,&rdquo; Halpern said. &ldquo;I think he made games fun, and he made players think, &lsquo;I want to skate like that,&rsquo; or &lsquo;I want to try that move.&rsquo; </p>
<p>I definitely think he played a big hand in the development of a lot of young players in the United States.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Chicago rookie Patrick Kane said even growing up in Buffalo that he was a Modano fan.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I think the World Cup (beating Canada to win it in 1996) and the Olympics (silver medal in 2002), both of those were pretty memorable teams,&rdquo; Kane said. &ldquo;You look at those teams with Modano and [John] LeClair and Hull, yeah, they were great teams to watch.&rdquo;</p>
<p>When told he might have the best chance to beat Modano&rsquo;s points record (Keith Tkachuk still is on the radar for the goal-scoring mark), Kane, 18, was pretty surprised.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Obviously, I&rsquo;m just getting started, so that&rsquo;s a long, long way down the road,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to even think about, but if I was able to do that, it would be a great honor.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Hull, who now serves as the special advisor to the Stars hockey operations department, has become one of Modano&rsquo;s best friends. He served as co-best man (along with Darryl Sydor) in Modano&rsquo;s summer wedding to singer/actress Willa Ford, and often acts as a sounding board for the Stars&rsquo; all-time leading scorer. </p>
<p><span class="inline inline-right"><img src="http://usahockeymagazine.net/sites/default/files/images/0712_Modano-Puck.jpg" alt="" title="" class="image image-_original " width="380" height="298" /></span>Hull said the importance of Modano&rsquo;s career is reflected in the fact that he was able to eventually get the American-born scoring record, and that he probably should have had it three or four years earlier.</p>
<p>&ldquo;As strange as it sounds, I don&rsquo;t think you can really measure the kind of player he is in the points he had,&rdquo; Hull said. &ldquo;You can, because those are obviously great numbers, but he was so much more than just points. He committed himself to being a great two-way player in a defensive system that was very limiting offensively. If you put Mike Modano in any other system, he would have had a ton more points. But he sacrificed that because he wanted to win. I can&rsquo;t say enough about the guy. I think he&rsquo;s one of the greatest players ever.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Modano has two years left on his contract and has said on several occasions that he plans to play it out. However, after a slow start this season, he has had moments of second-guessing. Modano scored just five points in his first 14 games of the season while trying to track down the Housley mark. The pressure of the chase started weighing on his mind, and he even was briefly demoted to the fourth line when his game started to unravel and he was a minus player.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just really frustrating, because I don&rsquo;t feel I&rsquo;ve lost anything physically,&rdquo; Modano said during the slump. &ldquo;This is all between the ears right now. This is definitely a mental problem.&rdquo;</p>
<p>At age 37, Modano might have lost a step or seen his hands get just a little harder, but he will argue those points. He said he is playing it by ear on the rest of his career, but if his ability to fight through the early-season slump is any indication, there could be plenty of tread left on his tires.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He still has all the skills. He skates well, he shoots well,&rdquo; Stars coach Dave Tippett said. &ldquo;But when you play this long, it&rsquo;s a grind sometime. But he&rsquo;s found a way to keep grinding away, and you can&rsquo;t say enough about that guy that way. He&rsquo;s where he&rsquo;s at for a reason, because he&rsquo;s earned that stature.&rdquo;</p>
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<a href="/issue/2007-12">2007-12</a> </div>
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http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2007-12/point-break#commentsAmerican HockeyMike MadanoFeatureTue, 22 Mar 2011 20:36:38 +0000admin4497 at http://www.usahockeymagazine.com